Cookies on the Arsenal WebsiteWe use cookies to improve your browsing experience and help us improve our websites. We and carefully selected third parties use cookies to show you more relevant ads online. For more information, please click here. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our use of such cookies.

William Gallas

William Gallas spent four years with Arsenal and was Club captain for nearly half that time.

The French defender moved to Emirates Stadium as part of the deal which took Ashley Cole to Chelsea on transfer deadline day in September 2006. Within a year he succeeded Thierry Henry as skipper after the striker left for Barcelona.

William Gallas Profile

Name

William Gallas

Arsenal Career

2006 - 2010

Position:

Defender

Appearances

142 (142 starts, 0 as a sub)

Goals

17

Gallas was a surprise choice but his quality as a defender was not in doubt. Quick, tough and an excellent reader of the game, he added experience and influence to the heart of Arsenal's back four.

With Gallas and Kolo Toure in tandem, Arsenal challenged strongly for the Premier League title but their hopes faded after a draw at Birmingham in February 2008 - a game that started with an horrific injury to Eduardo and ended with Gallas sitting alone on the pitch in anger and disbelief.

In November of that year, Gallas was relieved of the captaincy after disparaging quotes about the team were attributed to him in the French media. But far from being shaken by the decision, Gallas bounced back to produce probably the best form of his Arsenal career.

A new defensive partner arrived in the summer of 2009 in the shape of Thomas Vermaelen and he and Gallas immediately hit it off, both scoring on the opening day of the new season at Everton. Indeed, with the Frenchman and Belgian in tandem Arsenal looked capable of ending their wait for the Premier League title.

But it wasn't to be. A calf injury sidelined Gallas in the Spring and he aggravated the problem during his comeback match against Barcelona.

That would prove to be the defender's final appearance for Arsenal; he opted to leave Emirates Stadium when his contract expired in June 2010.

Please ensure you enter the correct Date of Birth as it will be required if you need to reset your password

Please ensure that you enter your parents email address and click here to review our privacy policy for those who are under 13. Please note that an email address can only be used once to register as a Digital Member so you cannot register for both an adult and junior membership under the same email address.

Mobile Number

* Country

* State

Language Preference

* Postcode

* Email Address

* Confirm Email Address

* Password

* Confirm Password

Get all the news from Arsenal.com

Weekly E-Newsletter (only in English)I would like to receive the weekly e-newsletter which includes match reviews and offers from The Arsenal Football Club plc and its commercial partners.

Club Information and Offers (only in English)I would like to receive information and offers relating to The Arsenal Football Club plc.

Offers and Information about Commercial Partners (only in English)I would like to receive information and offers relating to The Arsenal Football Club plc's commercial partners.For further details, see our Privacy Policy or write to us at Data Protection Officer, The Arsenal Football Club PLC, 75 Drayton Park, London N5 1BU